The first night of City Reach Wichita September 6, 2015.
We had a great first night and we will get to that in good time. First you get the report from the weekend. If you can not wait for tent revival pictures then I certainly understand if you scroll down and them come back and read. Go ahead. I really do understand!
Weekend Weview
Kelly Jo and I started Friday early down at the tent site for City Reach Wichita at the corner of Lincoln and Hydraulic. We knew about where we wanted to set the tent but I had some light pole to work around. It took me a while of measuring and figuring but soon I had some firm direction.
We were about 2 1/2 hours getting the stake line all marked but that included all of the measuring and thinking. Thinking can be pretty time consuming for me so considering that it did not take too long.
I had took some stakes with me to see if I could drive through the old blacktop parking lot but I could not penetrate it at all even with my 20 lb. sledge. It is a real graveling blacktop that has probably been down for decades. It was too tough for me!
We went back to the tent trailer to fetch the generator and the big Bosch rotary hammer drill I purchased last year.
Some of you may remember that I use to carry a large jackhammer to drive the stakes. I only had to use it a few times. It was big, heavy and cumbersome to use. It was easier to drive the stakes with a sledge than it was to handle the jackhammer.
Pastor Dallas Lakes had rented a hammer drill for the three tent revivals we did for him in Indiana and it worked great. I found a good deal on Amazon and had one shipped to me and sold the jackhammer.
I used it twice last year to drill through heavy gravel and construction fill and I have not used it since. Friday it earned its keep and also earned the price of the very good extra long bit I ordered as well. The 48x92 set up on the tent has 32 stakes and it drilled every one of them with no problem.
The old tough pavement was thick in places and I had some concrete below that in a couple of spots but the Bosch drill handled it well. The only problem I had was one hole I drilled would not turn lose of the bit. The big drill has no reverse and I could not pull it out. The more I tried the deeper it went until the bit was buried three feet deep.
I had no choice but to remove the drill and use a big pipe wrench to screw the bit out of the ground. I am very thankful I have a Dad that knows about everything and when I called him he told me to use the pipe wrench. Worked like a charm.
It was late afternoon by the time we finished and after supper and a short attempt at a nap we worked on sound equipment and other last minutes preparations until way after bed time.
Saturday started a few hours later as we cranked the bus to drive it and the tent trailer to the tent site. There were men and women there cleaning up the lot early and by 8:00 AM the crowd was gathering to begin tent set up. We had a great crowd of people and they worked hard and long.
This was my first set up of the tent in the 48x92 configuration and with 400 chairs so it took us a little longer. Odie said it was 1 hour and 45 minutes from carrying stakes to the tent standing in the air and strapped down. There are six lace lines instead of four and an extra center pole so that accounts for some of the extra time. We were completely finished and taking the group picture in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Not bad at all.
First Church and Bethany both had a great showing of folks here to help and they were in good humor and ready to work. That sure makes it easier for me! I really appreciate these Pastors and their churches for catching my burden.
Bro. Jimmie Radcliffe is with us this week and he is a huge help to us. I am looking forward to having him with us in every City Reach next year. It is going to be great!
Bro. Jimmie and I piddled around with last minute tent things until nearly dark and called it a day. We had a steady stream of folks stopping in inquiring about the tent and revival all day. In fact the last one stopped in just a few minutes before dark. That is always exciting.
This is the first time I have set up in a city this large since my very first tent revivals in 2001 and 2002 when I set up right here in Wichita. This is a much busier location with people constantly driving and walking by. The only down side to a busy location is that makes me a little more nervous about random vandalism and theft so we spent the first night watching the tent.
I stayed outside until late and then went in and napped about 3 hours while Kelly Jo sat in the front seat of the bus and kept and eye on things through the windshield. The lights are on under the tent so we really have a birds eye view of the whole tent from the bus. I sent her to bed and I sat in the front rather than outside.
We had a few people walk through, a bunch of cars pull through the parking lot but only two suspicious visitors. Both of them came through twice on hourly intervals so they were probably just making their normal rounds.
First Night of City Reach Wichita!
Sunday night was awesome! I think everybody was well pleased with the crowd, the moving of God's Spirit and the response from the visitors. God certainly moved in the altar and there were several folks praying for salvation all over the tent. I have had messages from folks all over that were having special prayer last night and we sure could feel it!
I was pretty anxious all afternoon about the first night of City Reach but I knew that God was going to help us. The folks started gathering in early and I could feel the momentum building toward a good service long before it started! Once we were cranking it was evident that God was going to help some people under the Blue and White Gospel Tent. He did help and we praise him for it.
These churches are excited about God bringing revival. This community is excited about God bringing revival. This evangelist is excited about God bringing revival. Can you tell we are all a little excited?
I am sure I will have more to say about City Reach Wichita as the week progresses but right now lets have some pictures.
Thanks for reading.
Davy
